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Where We Stand - 2013

December 16, 2013 – The end of the
year is a time for taking stock, so that’s what we’ll do today.To a large degree, I will simply be
lifting information from an article that first appeared online in Climate Progress.

There’s a lot to talk about, and
really very little analysis warranted; the facts speak for themselves, and very
loudly, too.None of the news is
good - we appear to have much in common with the proverbial deer caught in the
headlights.

CO2
levels hit 400 ppm– the highest level in recorded history.This fact notwithstanding, Americans
rejoice in being told that our country is once again energy independent, thanks
to the fracking of oil and gas.At
the current pace of increase, there will be 450 ppm within three decades, which
will drive catastrophic climate change.

Hotter,
faster– In its fifth assessment report, released this year, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determines that the world as a
whole will be 7 degrees F. warmer by 2100.The United States will, on average, be 9 degrees F. warmer
(hotter?).Sea levels are rising
more quickly, droughts and floods are growing in severity.The oceans have absorbed enormous
amounts of carbon dioxide.

Mass
extinctions– 40 to 70 percent of all species may become extinct.The oceans are more acidic now than at
any time in the last 300 million years.Marine plankton, the basis for the entire ocean food chain, are at their
lowest numbers ever.The
acidification of the water in which they swim has warped some fishes’ brains,
and makes the formation of shells very difficult for shellfish.Jellyfish populations are
exploding.Fish populations
continue at the brink of collapse globally, due to overfishing.

Heat,
drought, wildfires – November 2013 was the hottest November on record in
the U.S.In China, the worst
heatwave in 140 years caused temperatures to top out at 105 degrees F.Australia experienced its hottest month
on record in January, hottest September on record, and multiple major wildfires
after an early start to the wildfire season.Wildfires took a tremendous toll in the U.S., as well.Colorado experienced its most
destructive wildfire in state history, while California endured its third
largest, covering an area of 402 square miles.In fact, the western U.S. has seen so little rain during the
past 13 years that scientists are describing conditions as a
“megadrought.”They believe it
could continue for several more years, exacerbating wildfires in Colorado,
Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon.

Air
pollution – China experienced its worst pollution ever in January of
this year.In October, air
pollution nearly shut down the entire city of Harbin.Schools, roads, and airports were closed.This month, children and the elderly
were ordered to remain inside for seven days (and counting) in Shanghai.The Chinese government claims to be
aware of the need for clean energy; it unveiled a plan to fight pollution in
September.Oddly enough, the
country doubled its renewable energy capacity this year.

The
need for action – Australians have elected a government that quashed the
country’s Climate Commission, and has plans to eliminate the carbon tax.Japan, still reeling from the effects
of the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, arrived at the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland only to announce that it would
cut its emissions by only 3.8 percent by 2020.Japan has been hit with increasingly deadly typhoons, the
result of sea level rise, and in August Tokyo recorded its warmest daily low
temperatures in modern history.

Rising
sea levels – As the oceans heat up, they expand.In March 2013, global sea levels hit a
record high, according to the World Meteorological Association.Currently, sea levels are rising at a
rate of 3.2 millimeters per year (a third of a centimeter).This makes every ocean storm that much
more dangerous, as seen with Super Storm Sandy and Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Fossil
fuels redux – So-called developed countries will have to lower emissions
by 50 percent below 1990 levels (NOT 2005 levels) by the end of this decade in
order to stay below a 2 degrees centigrade increase (4 degrees F.).Yet global oil demand was higher than
projected this year.The U.S. is
more than ready to meet that challenge, exporting more oil than it
imports.How will the American
people fare as a result?More oil
spills to clean up, pipeline explosions to clean up, exploding trains to clean
up.And a global total of 36
billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, to which we contribute an increasing
proportion.

More
methane – The IPCC reported this year that methane (natural gas) is more
toxic than at first realized.Compared to a molecule of carbon dioxide, methane is 34 times more
effective at trapping heat over a 100-year time scale.Over a period of 20 years, it is 86
times more effective.Worst of
all, far more of the deadly substance is leaking at fracking sites than was
realized.The EPA claimed only1.5
percent of the natural gas produced leaked into the atmosphere.However, several new studies measured
amounts anywhere from 3 to 17 percent.A 3.2 percent leakage rate is the threshold beyond which gas is no
better for us or the environment than coal.Natural gas is looking less and less like the transitional
fuel we had hoped it would be.

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